Broken Dreams
by shadowarwen
Summary: Harry's routine letters stop coming. The Order is too concerned with a development in the Department of Mysteries to notice. What happens when they finally do?
1. Default Chapter

A/N: Hello all. A/N: This used to be a collaboration between myself and another author, Jade Caminus. She became too busy to keep up with my usual writing schedule and I've decided to write the rest of this story on my own. I'm also taking this story in a different direction than we had originally planned. I'm leaving Jade with full permission to proceed with our original idea however she sees fit. I won't speak of our original plan, in case she wishes to use it for her own.

_Two days, _Remus thought. _Two days since Harry's last letter._ He clicked his fingers restlessly against the windowsill, scanning the sky for a sign of Hedwig, a school owl, anything. But there was nothing there.

_There's time yet,_ he told himself. _Harry's probably just finishing the next letter. Probably hasn't even sent Hedwig off yet._ His clicking fingers did not stop. On a sudden impulse he whirled away from the window and headed off into the house, heading for the kitchen.

"Ron!" he called, swinging open the kitchen door.

"Whad ifts id?" Ron said around a mouthful of bread.

Remus shook his head at the teenager, but continued on his brainwave. "You haven't gotten an owl from Harry, have you? In the last two days?"

"No. Hafent 'ad one sfince Hedwig wasft lasft 'ere." Ron swallowed. "Why?"

"Just…thinking," Remus said, half-dodging the question. Ron gave him this I-don't-believe-any-of-that-crap look, but didn't say anything. "Thanks, Ron."

"Welcome."

Past his conversation with Ron, there wasn't anything Remus could settle to. He paced the house—Sirius' house—for most of the afternoon, brooding on possible scenarios of what might be keeping Harry's letter delayed. That, and trying not to think of Sirius.

He hadn't let himself think about it, what had happened that night. He hadn't let himself grieve, even though he knew Sirius was not going to come back, no matter how much he, or Harry, wanted it. To let himself grieve, and let go would make it more final that he was willing to deal with. The loss of James and Lily had been hard enough…made more so by what Peter had done. He and Sirius had at least been able to help each other for a small amount of time. But who was here to help him with this?

Pacing the floor was doing nothing to calm him, he realized, and made a beeline for the living room. It was late afternoon by this point, and most of the people residing in the house were congressing with their fellows, and minding their own business. Therefore, Remus had the living room all to his lonesome. His wandering thoughts were broken, however, when Hedwig flew threw the open window.

_Oh, thank God,_ thought Remus. He quickly detached the letter from the bird's leg. Patting her pleasantly on the head, he immediately tore it open.

Remus,

Everything's going fine here. Been kind of boring, but otherwise good. The Dursley's are being nice to me, so you don't need to worry about that. Well, I've got lots of homework to do, so I'll write to you later.

Harry

Remus laid the short letter down on the coffee table, relief flooding him. _He's alright then,_ he told himself. The nagging feeling that something wasn't right entered his mind before he pushed it away. Harry was fine. He'd just read the note.

"Hey, Remus." said a voice from behind him. "It's time for supper. Mum told me to come and get you. Hey, you got Harry's letter. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, Ron. Everything's fine." he said, handing the boy the letter, knowing he'd want to read it.

The teenager quickly skimmed the letter, all the while muttering to himself, "They don't let him do his homework…" but Remus had already walked out the door, not hearing the boy's words.

Harry rolled over on his bed, finding the position he'd been in for the past hour was becoming extremely uncomfortable. He looked at the clock sitting on his bedside table, and only then noticed it was almost time for dinner. Well, for the Dursley's at least. He didn't presume to think they'd offer him anything that could possibly keep him alive. He was, on the other hand, suspicious of his aunt Petunia's lack of voice. She was usually screaming at him to cook their meal by now.

_Perhaps this is a new kind of torture_? he asked himself. As he hadn't eaten in days, only the bits he managed to steal while cooking their dinner, he was starving. Maybe they knew he'd been stealing the food. Maybe they just wanted him to suffer now, even more than he had been before, by completely cutting him off from any food. He knew if this was the case, he'd be in deep trouble soon. A month into his summer vacation, and he was already losing weight at a disturbing rate.

Harry sat quietly, trying to discern if anyone was even in the house. For all he knew, they'd gone out for dinner. This thought was denied, however, when he heard the boisterous voice of his uncle, calling for his son to come down for dinner.

"Dudley, it's time to eat!" he yelled.

"I'll be right there!" was immediately returned.

The slight teenager sat up on his bed, in the attempt to look less lazy. At least, less lazy to his relatives. He knew they'd be coming in momentarily. And he wasn't disappointed. Not a minute later, Harry heard the many locks on his bedroom door being undone. Finally, the door was pushed open, creaking loudly on rusty hinges, as his uncle Vernon strolled nonchalantly into the small room.

"You've got five minutes." he muttered, and pointed down the hallway. As the daily ritual went, Harry would have exactly five minutes to get his business finished with in the bathroom, before he was locked, once again, into his bedroom, until the next day. "Make it quick boy, my supper's getting cold." he hissed.

"Yes, uncle Vernon." he quickly replied, before doing a brisk walk down the hallway. _Running wasn't a good idea, not in Vernon Dursley's house_, he thought darkly. As soon as the door was closed behind him, Harry quickly relieved himself, washed his hands, and drank as much water from the faucet as he possibly could. He took a lidded cup out of his baggy pants pocket, something he kept on himself for these occasions in particular, and filled it to the rim, replacing the lid. Slipping it back into his pocket, he made a hasty return to his bedroom, where Uncle Vernon was waiting impatiently.

"About damn time, boy. You take entirely too much time in that bathroom. If you can't get done quicker, I just might have to take off a few minutes." he threatened, before shoving Harry back into the room. The door was immediately slammed, and Harry listened tiredly as the locks were replaced.

Harry didn't think he'd be able to get as much done if the man made good on his threat. Five minutes was just barely enough time. He knew he was getting done before his time expired; the man was just being an ass.

He stooped down beside his bed and placed the cup underneath for later. He couldn't risk being caught with it, and slid some of Dudley's old toys around it as camouflage. With that finished, he threw himself resignedly onto his bed. He didn't think he'd be getting out of this until the end of summer, and even then, it'd only be if he hadn't starved to death. His uncle had instructed him in what to say in every letter he wrote to his friends, or the Order. No hints, whatsoever, had been released. Except for one. He just wondered if anyone would pick up on it.

Early the next morning, Remus awoke to a rainy, dreary day, and wished he could just remain in bed. But it wasn't to be, he wasn't that lucky. Today he had a meeting with Albus Dumbledore in less than an hour. He was under the assumption that the rest of the Order would be called upon as well, but he couldn't be sure. It had been a spur of the moment kind of thing, when he had retired to his room the previous evening. He hadn't been that surprised to see Albus' head sticking out from the fireplace, but he was more than a little curious when the older man had insisted he join him the next morning.

He was less than enthusiastic this morning, and had to literally drag himself from the bed. It seemed that the days were getting more and more difficult for him. It appeared that life without his best friend was getting tiresome. He could only imagine how poor Harry was putting up with it, alone with his dismal relatives as his only source to distract him. He had an entire house full of Weasley's and an occasional Order member to pull him from his funk. Harry had absolutely no one.

He managed to get himself a shower and a quick shave before he was due at Hogwarts. He grabbed a rumpled robe from his 'clean clothes' pile and pulled it on. Discovering his hair was looking less than stellar this morning, he pulled a comb through it before making his way downstairs. He cursed himself for not having any floo powder available in his room, and had to enter the living room just to obtain some. He hadn't expected to run into Mrs. Weasley.

"Good morning, Remus." she said cheerfully as she sipped from a cup filled with some unknown substance. She put the newspaper she had been reading, he assumed it was the Daily Prophet, on the coffee table and rose to meet him. He could feel her eyes on him as he grabbed some floo powder from its pot.

"Going somewhere?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm to meet Albus at the school." he answered, and began to leave the room.

"Will you be back this evening?" asked Molly, taking another tentative sip from her teacup. In the past couple of weeks, she'd become like a second, albeit much better, mother to him. Asking questions you would ask your teenager seemed to be her thing.

"Yes, I will. May I go now?" he asked, letting a little tinge of exasperation enter his tone. The woman could be a little overbearing at times. He knew she meant well, but all the same, he wished for some privacy at some points.

"Forgive me, Remus. I only worry about you. You haven't been yourself lately." she added, looking somewhat worried.

"Don't worry about it, Molly. I'm fine." He put on a fake smile for good measure.

With one last wave of goodbye, he headed back to his room to use the privacy of his own fireplace. A minute later and he found himself in Albus' office. Remus immediately noticed that only one other Order member was in the room.

"Hello Alastor." he pleasantly greeted the older man, even though his heart wasn't totally in it.

"Lupin." he curtly replied, his magical eye roaming almost skittishly. Remus realized that Dumbledore wasn't yet in the room, and took a seat opposite Moody. The older man looked a mite nervous and worn out. Perhaps he was getting as little sleep as he himself was.

He was beginning to wonder if Albus was ever going to show when the door opened and in he walked.

"Ah, I see you made it." he addressed Remus, but he also didn't miss the quick look that Moody had sent the headmaster. It appeared as if the scraggly haired man was attempting to tell Albus something with his eyes only.

_What are they hiding?_ he asked himself. _I guess you're about to find out._ Or, at least he hoped as much.

"Remus, I have a proposition for you." began the Headmaster. "I know you might turn me down, but think about it first. I would like for you to take up the Defense Against the Dark Arts position again."

The old man waved down Remus' protests before he could practically open his mouth to voice them. "I realize you have your concerns, but I need you here for more than just your teaching abilities. I would like for most of the Order members to be here at Hogwarts when school begins. It's been brought to my attention that Voldemort might try and steal Harry right from underneath us. He must be protected at all costs. Having you teach will just be a bonus." he added, with a twinkle in his eye.

Remus realized Albus was killing two birds with one stone. He'd have a DADA teacher, as he apparently hadn't been able to ascertain one, and plus he'd have him here as Harry's personal body guard. There wasn't much to think about. He knew he'd do it, if just to be close to Harry. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to be working, as it kept his mind off of more difficult matters. With having all this free time, he found it hard to combat the feelings he was experiencing over Sirius' death. It would be much easier if he kept himself busy.

"I accept." he stated, much to Albus' surprise.

"Very good!" exclaimed the headmaster happily. "I'll expect you here two weeks before term starts, if that is agreeable with you?"

"Yes, yes, that's fine. If there's nothing else, I've got much to do." he said, hoping Albus would let him in on whatever secret they were hiding.

"No, that's all I needed to speak with you on."

Remus took the hint and made his escape. As he wearily made his way back into his bedroom later that day, he found his mind was drawn to that moment in the headmaster's office. He couldn't help but wonder what Moody had been doing there, and what the big secret was.

"I hadn't expected you here for another day or so." stated Albus. "I assume you've found something important, since you weren't able to speak of it in front of Remus."

Alastor Moody tapped his foot impatiently on the hardwood floor. "Of course." he rasped. "We finally got that information on the Veil."

Albus immediately turned intense eyes towards the other man. "And what did you discover?" the headmaster had found that his legs had gone weak, and he immediately sat himself down in his chair. His fingers subconsciously found a lemon drop from their bowl, and popped it in his mouth, waiting for Alastor's answer. Finding his manners, he offered one to his guest.

Mad-Eye favored the lemon drops in disgust. "No, thank you. Back to business," he stated.

Albus chuckled at the man's apparent distaste for sweets. He hoped he never became that suspicious over everything in life.

"You were right…there's more to that veil than meets the eye." he said excitedly, or as excitedly as the man could manage.

Albus propped his elbows on his desk, thinking intently, Moody all but ignored. He vaguely heard the man mumbling about senile headmasters. He merely smiled in response. Things were definitely about to change. He hoped.

A/N: So, what'd you think? It will get more interesting, I swear. So, please review to let me know what you think about it!


	2. Set Free

A/N: This used to be a collaboration between myself and another author, Jade Caminus. She became too busy to keep up with my usual writing schedule and I've decided to write the rest of this story on my own. I'm also taking this story in a different direction than we had originally planned. I'm leaving Jade with full permission to proceed with our original idea however she sees fit. I won't speak of our original plan, in case she wishes to use it for her own.

Disclaimer for entire story: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its affiliates.

……………………………………………………….

As the next few days passed, Remus knew for a fact that something was being kept from him. Something very important. It stood to reason that he would be very interested in knowing what this secret was, but no one in the entire Order seemed to think it was important enough for him to know. Yet, they all were going to extreme lengths to make sure he didn't discover this secret.

Just the previous day he had walked into the kitchen to merely pour himself a glass of juice, and had interrupted Molly and Arthur Weasley, along with Alastor Moody, whispering fervently to each other over a baked casserole. They had all immediately gone deathly quiet, something Remus was suspicious about, and left the room completely. Remus had stood with a confused look on his face, contemplating the casserole and what could have possibly been so interesting about it.

Another incident as suspicious as the last had happened just this morning. Albus Dumbledore, wearing a quite shocking color of purple, had been speaking with a portrait in the hallway when he'd walked inside the house. Albus stopped talking as soon as he'd been seen, but Phineas Nigellus had kept on going, not realizing he had entered the room.

'I'm as eager to have him freed as you are, Albus. But you simply can't let either of them know," he'd said before Albus managed to get the portrait to stop speaking. Phineas looked up sheepishly from his frame and smiled a fake smile. "Ah, Remus. How good to see you again," he had said before slipping out of the portrait and disappearing into another. At the time, Albus had refused to tell him what they had been talking about, or why they had mysteriously become closed lipped as soon as he'd entered into the range of hearing their voices.

Now, he was beginning to wonder. They were obviously keeping something from him, and he planned to find out precisely what that was. And he had an idea what it might be. It was almost too much to even hope for. But if it were true…

……………………………………

As soon as the morning light filtered through a crack in the bars on the window, succeeding in hitting Harry directly in one eye, he blinked open bleary eyes to another day of hell. He tried unsuccessfully three times to roll off of his bed before finally getting his tired body to respond. It had gotten worse as the days progressed. No food and hardly any water were taking a desperate toll on his already weakened body. Too much more of this abuse and he knew he wouldn't survive the rest of the week, let alone the month. Somehow, he wasn't all that worried about the notion that he was probably closer to death's door than he had ever been in his entire life. He just didn't care anymore. And, sadly, he thought he'd only be closer to the one person he wanted to be with. Sirius.

Sitting precariously on the edge of his bed, Harry made another attempt at making his body move, but he just lacked the energy to do so. He knew he needed to get up, or he'd miss his chance to clean up and get some water in the loo. He couldn't miss that chance. He was so thirsty.

It seemed the Dursley's were reading his mind because at that moment Harry heard the locks raking against each other, as each one was undone. Harry tried to get some life into his movements, but it just wasn't going to happen. He sat, resigned to his fate.

When Harry looked up, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Petunia Dursley stood in the doorway with a small bowl of dried cereal and a partially eaten apple. "Here," she said crassly, and dropped the tray on the floor. "Don't say we never do anything for you," she said before closing the door. Harry waited until all the locks were refastened before dragging himself off the bed and across the floor. It seemed to take an eternity, but as soon as he reached the food, Harry shoved his hands into the cereal and started stuffing his mouth as full as he could. He nearly choked at one point, but was able to work around it, even as he shoved more into his mouth. His hunger only kept him going for the first third of the meal before he thought he might vomit it all back up. He stopped eating then and lay back on the floor, willing his queasy stomach to keep the food within it. He couldn't afford to sick up. Not when he needed the nutrients quite so badly.

Ten minutes later he was finally able to move without fear of throwing his breakfast back up. Soon, instinct took over and he dumped the leftover cereal into an old basket under his bed and shoved the apple inside of it as well. He had to make the food last for as long as he could, otherwise he'd go another week or so without anything at all.

He felt only slightly better after eating for the first time in almost a week, but not up to top standards by any means. He knew he was still on dangerous ground where his life was concerned. He also knew the Dursley's didn't give a damn whether he lived or died. He wondered what would happen when the Order found out what had happened to him. How they had been treating him all this time while they had never once checked in. He'd hoped and prayed they would. But then he found himself as he was now. In this awful, uncaring world where he himself had stopped caring if anyone ever came for him. He'd probably waste away sooner or later. But, with something finally in his belly, he realized he was fighting for his life once again. He did care, if only a little bit. Harry never wanted to leave his friends behind, the Weasley's or even Dumbledore. But most of all, he worried about leaving Remus alone. Remus was the only thing left he had to remind him of his parents, of Sirius, how they all used to be. When times were happier.

……………………………….

The room was deathly silent when he walked inside. He looked at Albus and saw the twinkle that had been so frequently missing in his eyes, return at full force.

"Did something happen?" asked Remus, taking his seat amongst the other Order members.

"You could say that," Albus was quick to reply in that calculating way of his.

Remus sighed. "That doesn't tell me anything. I know the entire lot of you has been keeping something from me. What is it?" he asked, and grinned slightly at everyone's shocked looks. "Did you actually think you were being sneaky? I've seen first years be more surreptitious than you have."

Molly looked chagrined but raised her eyes to meet his. "I believe we all just wanted to tell you so badly that it became hard for us to keep it a secret."

"Then you are going to tell me what's going on?" he implored them.

"Not at first, we weren't," started Moody, the only one who looked to be against telling him. "But you've a right to know, if anyone ever had a right. And, now we've got full proof of it. No use in keeping it a secret any longer."

Remus waited anxiously, but everyone seemed to be debating who would tell him first.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice a little higher than he would have liked it to be. "Please tell me."

It was actually Severus Snape who broke the news to him, something Remus would later find to be quite ironic. "Black is alive."

………………………..

After being dragged from his bed and unceremoniously dropped into a small chair in front of his equally small and rickety desk, Harry was given a pen and a pad of paper was slapped down on to the desk. "Write your damn letter," hissed Vernon, before taking a seat on Harry's bed and watching the boy like a hawk.

It was all Harry could do to even pick up the pen. Writing was a more difficult task, as all his energy was dwindling again. He'd eaten this morning, but now it was almost time for supper. One meal in just a week could only go so far. Feeling light-headed, Harry propped his head up with a trembling hand and began to scrawl out his letter. The lettering looked horrible and he couldn't possibly imagine anyone not noticing it when it arrived at Grimmauld Place. Vernon didn't seem to care one way or another, and Harry found himself hoping again that someone would come for him.

As soon as he was finished writing the letter, one of his shortest yet, Vernon snatched the missive from his weak grasp and quickly skimmed over his words. He didn't seem satisfied, but when the man looked over his nephew, he saw the boy was about to fall from his chair and grudgingly got up from the bed. After slipping Harry's letter into an envelope, he started from the room. "You have five minutes and you best hurry if you know what's good for you," he said before slamming the door behind him.

The thought of water was the only thing that got him moving from the desk chair. He was so incredibly thirsty that he was willing to crawl if he had to. When he finally made it to the door, he briefly wondered if it had all been a trick and the door was locked. That wasn't the case, however, and the door swung open as soon as he turned the knob. It was nearly as difficult as he thought it would be, making his way down the hallway. He thought for a moment he really would crawl, but finally the bathroom door was within reach and he stumbled into the room. Knowing he had just wasted precious moments just walking down the hall, Harry unsteadily made his way to the sink and turned on the tap. Shoving his mouth underneath the flow of water, Harry greedily gulped down as much as he could handle before his stomach started feeling queasy again.

In his haste to make it from his room, Harry had completely forgotten his water cup. Cursing himself for his stupidity, Harry sank to the floor, waiting for his Uncle to tell him to get out. About ten minutes later, Harry wondered where the hell his Uncle was. It wasn't like him to let Harry have more than a few minutes out of his room, let alone ten. Not a moment after Harry had begun to question, it was answered. His Uncle lumbered into the bathroom, looking as menacing as ever.

"Why aren't you back in your room, boy?" the beefy man asked before grabbing a fistful of Harry's hair and dragging him from the room.

Harry tried to grab hold of his Uncle's arm to make it less painful on himself, but he just didn't have the strength to do it. He was literally dragged by his hair into his bedroom and thrown onto his bed. "You'll learn to do as you're told, you little brat!"

Harry wasn't sure what that meant until his Uncle reared back and backhanded him across the face. So far this summer, Vernon hadn't been hitting him, but he supposed that was about to change. But, the slap was all he had to endure at the moment as his Uncle was already leaving the room, slamming the door in his wake.

Rolling over tiredly, Harry placed a cool hand against his now flaming cheek, allowing a single tear to trail down his cheek in his misery.

…………………………….

"What?"

The silence in the room was deafening. No one was speaking and almost everyone was giving Snape a dark look. Apparently, they thought he could have been a bit more tactful when addressing the matter at hand.

Remus stood up, grabbed the back of his chair uncertainly, and then sat back down again. He just didn't know what to do with this information. He thought the entire Order had momentarily lost their minds. Or Severus was playing a cruel trick on him. But, the others' reactions had him starting to believe what he'd just been told. He just didn't know what to say about it. "How do you figure that?" he finally managed to say.

"The Veil is just a pathway to another world, but we have been able to contact him. His voice is louder than the rest. He'd just on the other side. All we must do is figure out how to pull him back through. And, we think we've discovered that method," Albus informed him, the twinkle growing stronger as he watched the shock start to form on Lupin's face.

"Are you serious?" he wondered, hoping against hope that what they were saying they were actually capable of. "But, how? How are you going to get him back?"

Alastor frowned at those surrounding him. "I'm sorry, but that information is to remain confidential. There have been quite a few people to fall into that Veil, many of whom still have family amongst the living. Sirius Black is the only person thus far who has managed to get back to the opening and get free. As such, we are keeping this to ourselves. If anyone who has lost a family member to this object tries to gain access…" he trailed off, but it was understood amongst them all what would happen. They could lose Sirius even further if more action was taken to remove others from the Veil. People wouldn't understand that those who fell through the Veil had to make the effort to release themselves, not the other way around. Any action might cause Sirius to be pushed further within the Veil, something they couldn't allow to happen.

"Does anyone else know about this besides the Order?" asked Remus, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Yes. There are a few trusted members of the Ministry who have this information, but only so much as is necessary. We're are trying to keep this tightly secured," Moody continued to inform them.

"Will Harry be informed?" asked Remus.

"No," started Albus. "I think it would be in his best interest to keep this a secret from him as well. I don't want him getting his hopes up if something goes wrong."

Remus and Molly Weasley both seemed to agree with this. "That is a good idea."

"Have you received another of Harry's letters?" asked Molly.

A letter was produced from Lupin's inside coat pocket. "Yes," he muttered distractedly, before shoving it back inside to read later. "Is there any real hope we'll be able to save him?" asked Remus, his hope continuing to grow.

"Yes. We believe there is a great chance, Remus," Albus said. "Sirius could be coming home soon."

………………………………….

For the next few days, Remus kept himself as busy as possible. If he stopped to think about what was going on, he'd get sucked into the dream and he couldn't let that happen. If something should go wrong, he'd be devastated. Instead, he focused on preparing for the classes he would soon be teaching at the start of term.

He completely fell into his work, forgetting or ignoring everything else, so as not to think about what he was so worried about. In so doing, he was making the biggest mistake of his life.

………………………………….

Harry was dying. Slowly, each day, he was getting closer and closer to letting go. Petunia, having realized how sickly Harry had become, had begun bringing him small meals when her husband wasn't at home to catch her. It was few and far between, but she wouldn't have the brat die while in their care. She wasn't stupid enough to not realize what would happen to her and her family if the boy died. But, Harry could only eat so much now before getting sick to his stomach. He'd started vomiting up most of what he ate. His stomach just couldn't take the food he was given. He'd gone so long without that his small stomach was rebelling against anything put inside it. He was hungry; he just couldn't keep it in.

Shivering on his bed, Harry weakly grabbed his blanket and pulled it over his thin shoulders. He lay on his bed, wondering why no one had come. Why did no one care enough to so much as write to him. The letters from the Order had suddenly stopped; causing Harry to wonder just what was going on. He assumed they were keeping secrets from him again, that they were unable to tell him something that he probably in all justification had a right to know. But he was once again being kept in the dark. As always.

Loud footsteps on the stairs had him looking apprehensively towards the door. He heard all the locks being undone before the door was suddenly swung open. "Your aunt thinks you need a bath," his Uncle said angrily. "I don't see why it matters, but she insists you don't stink up the place. Get up and get going!" he hissed. The man was waiting at the door this time, instead of stomping back downstairs to watch television. Harry assumed the man must know he couldn't so much as move, let alone get up.

Sighing in disgust, Vernon took the few steps to Harry's bed and yanked the boy off of it. Harry nearly collapsed, but Vernon's tight hold on the back of his shirt kept him from falling to the floor. He was roughly dragged to the bathroom and tossed onto the floor while the much bigger man turned on the water. Steam started to fill the room as the tub filled with warm water, and Harry, despite being embarrassed beyond capacity, was looking forward to getting clean. It had been weeks since he'd last had a good bath. He just didn't know if he'd have the energy to give himself one.

Once the tub was full, Vernon stripped off Harry's shirt and pants, leaving the boy in his boxers. Then, he was unceremoniously picked up and plunged into the warm water. It felt good, and Harry found himself so tired that he started to slip underneath the water.

"Damn it," hissed his Uncle, grabbing Harry's arms and pulling him upright. Harry gasped in a lungful of air before coughing, a loud wheezing sound coming from his throat. "You're pathetic. You can't even give yourself a bloody bath!"

_And whose fault is that?_ Harry found himself wondering harshly. It certainly wasn't his fault no one felt the need to feed him.

Grabbing the body wash, Vernon poured it over his nephew and gave the boy a washcloth. "There, I gather you can handle it from here?" he asked scathingly.

Harry nodded, wanting the man to be far, far away from him at the moment. This was just too embarrassing for words. Vernon left then, slamming the bathroom door so hard that the mirror rattled in response. Harry sighed and quickly went to work, feeling light-headed and in desperate need of more rest. Washing his hair was probably the hardest, but he did manage it after a moment of contemplation. It just took time, time that he was actually given this time; instead of the measly five minutes he was usually granted.

An hour later, Harry was back in his bed, in clean pajamas and wishing he could have something to eat. Knowing he'd just throw it back up was beginning to be a deterrent, however. He just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up again, leave all his misery behind him.

………………………………….

Gasping and struggling for breath, Sirius Black was pulled from the Veil, weak and tired, but alive.

………………………………

Two days from the day Sirius was pulled from the Veil, Harry was being hand cuffed to his bed and had no idea why.

"Uncle, no. Why are you doing this?" he asked, feeling fear and panic starting to well inside of his chest.

Vernon scoffed and made sure the cuff was nice and tight around Harry's tiny wrist. "We're going out of town for a few days. I don't want you getting up and getting around with that magic of yours," he insisted. He knew Harry hid his wand in his bedroom, he just didn't know where. He wasn't willing to let the boy get to it and call those freaks.

Harry struggled against the cuff firmly holding his right hand to the bed frame. "I don't need to be restrained!" he said weakly. "I can't move as it is."

"So it seems," he said hatefully. "I know Petunia has been sneaking food up to you. I've told her time and again to just let you starve, but she refuses to listen. I know you're stronger than you let on," he said, his eyes dark with anger. He grabbed Harry's chin and pushed his fingers in hard enough to bruise. "I'm not fooled by your act, you little shite!" he hissed before throwing Harry's head away from him violently.

Only when the door was slammed and the locks were tightly bolted did Harry let the tears stream down his face. He felt so lost and alone. It had been two weeks since the last letter from the Order. He was beginning to worry about them, and his friends. Maybe something had happened to them? What if they were hurt? The thought that something had happened to the only ones he considered family while he could do nothing to help him sent a spike of guilt up through his chest.

Logically, he knew there was nothing he could do. Not in this state. Not with how the Dursley's had been treating him. But, he still felt he should have been able to stop it from happening. Knowing he couldn't didn't make it any better.

But, then he wondered if perhaps he'd just been forgotten. According to the Dursley's, it was an easy thing to do. After all, who would care about a worthless piece of filth like Harry?

………………………….

Five days after he'd been rescued from the Veil, Sirius was starting to mend. He'd gained a few more pounds and was finally able to talk without his voice cracking horribly. He was even able to get up and move around the Hospital Wing from time to time, with the help of Remus, of course.

"How is everyone?" asked Sirius. It had taken a while for Sirius to gather his thoughts and discover where he really was. He hadn't actually been aware for quite a bit when he'd been in the Veil, and for a day or two after he'd emerged from it. He remembered wanting out, wanting to get back to his friends, his family. And he remembered seeming to find the way. And then here he was, Remus and Albus Dumbledore at his side, and a few Order members as well.

"Everyone is doing fine," responded Dumbledore before he really had a chance to consider it.

"Where's Harry?" asked Sirius. He'd been anxious to see his Godson for a while now, but didn't mention it for fear they wouldn't let him see the boy until he was healthier and on his feet.

Remus seemed startled at first. Then he pulled a rumpled letter out of his coat pocket, smoothing it distractedly with his fingers. "I'd forgotten about his letter," he said, looking up at the other members with a growing sense of alarm. "Have we received another letter since this one?" he asked.

Molly, starting to look concerned as well, shook her head in the negative. "No, I assumed you were receiving all of his letters."

He nodded. "I was. But the last one I got was a few weeks ago," he said, opening the letter now with haste. "How could I have forgotten?" he mumbled to himself and then skimmed the letter. "Merlin…something's wrong," he gasped, thrusting the note into Albus' hands. "Just look at his writing. It's obvious he was having trouble writing it," he said, indicating the shaky writing.

Albus snapped his head up. "Remus, Severus, go check on him. Make sure he's all right," he sighed then, and lowered the letter. "If he's not, bring him back immediately."

Sirius was sitting up in bed, his arms going a bit shaky themselves as he tried to hold up his weight. "What's going on? Is Harry okay?" he asked, his voice terse. "If those Muggles have done something to my godson, so help me…"

Albus cut him off. "I'm sure he's fine, Sirius," he said, but Sirius was far from convinced.

………………………………..

Remus and Severus quickly walked down the street from where they had apparated in on Privet Drive. Feeling a sense of urgency, Remus spurred them to go faster.

"I'm sure the brat is just fine, Lupin," replied Severus, feeling as if this trip was a complete waste of their time.

Remus shook his head emphatically. "No, I don't think he is."

The Potions Master looked sideways at the man he was practically running with and found himself wondering if the werewolf was truly correct in his assumptions. He just couldn't imagine Potters relatives treating him any other way but kind. How little he knew.

Upon reaching the correct house, Remus quickly scanned up and down the darkened street before magically unlocking the door. His whispered _alohamora_ quickly did its job and the door sprang open, probably sensing the man's urgency.

"I don't believe anyone is home, Lupin," informed Severus unnecessarily.

"Yes, I can see that," he said, thinking they had possibly gone on some type of vacation and just forgotten to owl. That could be the reason. He hoped. "We should search the premises just the same."

Snape nodded and started up the stairs while Remus searched the first floor, first going to the cupboard under the stairs. He knew from talks with the boy and overheard conversations that Harry used to be kept in the precise cupboard he was opening. It was so small, he couldn't imagine anyone being able to sleep in there, let alone live in it for 10 years. _My poor Harry,_ he thought miserably.

Upstairs, Severus had found the excessively locked door and was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of dread. He could almost feel the despair coming from beyond it. "Remus," he called and heard footsteps coming hastily up.

"Yes?" he asked before his gaze also found the many locks and he looked at Severus with growing apprehension. "If they have him locked in there," he started dangerously while pulling his wand from his pocket. He didn't finish his statement, but it was obvious to Snape what would be done to anyone who dared to hurt Potter.

When the door was finally unbound, Severus and Remus came upon a sight that left Snape shocked and Remus nearly collapsing to the floor.

"No. No, Harry."

The boy looked dead. Remus rushed to Harry's side while Severus started pulling out vials from his inner pockets. He would never say the man wasn't prepared for any eventuality. "Is he?" asked Severus.

Lupin knew what the man was asking and was almost too horrified to find out whether he was still with them or not. Placing two trembling fingers against the boy's slender neck, he felt what he'd been looking for. "Thank Merlin," he whispered before looking up at Severus with a pleading look on his face. "He's alive, but barely. You have to do something."

Severus merely nodded and shoved the man out of his way. He started pouring a multitude of potions down the boy's throat, massaging it to get him to swallow. Harry started coughing weakly as the potions took effect.

Bleary eyes opened to see nothing but two fuzzy shapes. "Please, let me go now?" he asked, pulling fruitlessly at his bonds. "Please, Uncle?" he begged hoarsely. "It hurts."

He hadn't thought the day would ever come. But Severus Snape was enraged by how Potter had been treated. No one treated a child like this. No one. He pulled his wand free and the restraints were easily and efficiently wiped out of existence, permanently.

Hearing magic coming from their lips instead of harsh words and harsh hands, Harry tried to get a better look at the two in front of him? "Remus? Snape?" he asked, finally managing to focus on them. He sighed in relief. "I didn't think anyone was ever going to come," he managed weakly. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice so hoarse he started coughing violently again, tears of pain slipping down his cheeks.

Remus found tears were falling down his face as well. "We're fine, Harry. It's you we're worried about, kiddo," he said, gently running a hand through Harry's messy hair. Remus was starting to feel like the worst person on the face of the planet. He'd left this poor child to a family who hated and abused him. He was noticing the yellowing bruises on the boy's face and chin. "What have they done to you?"

"Remus, we have to get him to Madame Pomfrey immediately," he said suddenly, his voice tinged with fear.

Looking up in shock, having never expected to hear that from this particular man. "Why? What's wrong with him?"

Severus leaned in closer and whispered. "He's been starved and deprived of water. If we don't get him on restorative potions right now, we're going to lose him," he said quickly and harshly, wanting his point to be clean and straightforward.

Remus thought he would pass out. "Quickly then, let's go," he urged, and gently picked the boy up from the uncomfortable looking bed and cradled him against his chest. "He doesn't weigh a thing," he said, realizing then how precarious his position was.

Severus raised his wand and brought down the wards. At Remus' look he explained. "The wards be damned. Potter is never coming back here again."

Agreeing full-heartedly, Remus disapparated with a loud pop.

……………………………..

A/N: Well, that's the first (technically second) chapter to Broken Dreams. I can't believe it's been so long since I first started on this story!

I hope everyone likes it and enjoys the ride. Remember, this one is going to be short. Only about 5 chapters long.

The rest of this story will be a surprise in the making, so I shant be telling you what will happen in the next chapter!

Next update: Two weeks from today on a Sunday. For further information on when I might update early, please visit my Yahoo group's page, the link to which is located on my Profile page.

I would greatly appreciate any reviews to let me know how this story is going.


	3. A Saving Grace and Heartache

_Sorry, Nita posted this for me and then we found several problems. Opps! I think we found them all, so happy reading!_

When the doors opened and he saw Remus carrying in his godson, Sirius wasn't sure if the boy was dead or alive. He tried to get up out of bed, but Albus had put a distracted hand on his shoulder to keep him in place. It wasn't a hard thing to do, either. He wasn't exactly in the best shape of his life.

"Harry?" he gasped, still trying to rise from his bed. "Please tell me he's okay," he finally managed to say when he realized he wouldn't be allowed up.

Remus shrugged, looking towards Severus for the answers. "I'm not sure," he said quietly, laying the bundle in his arms onto the bed beside Sirius' own. He could at least be thankful they'd put his godson beside him.

"What happened?" asked Albus, seeming to just be coming out of some sort of daze. "He looks so thin," he murmured.

"He is thin," remarked Severus heatedly. "The boy hasn't been fed in weeks!"

"What!" hissed Sirius, gamely attempting to move to the boy's aid once more. "Let go of me Albus, or so help me…" The hand on his shoulder was suddenly gone and Sirius was finally able to move. He hadn't expected the headmaster to let him up. Perhaps it was the shock of Sirius' threat that caused the man to release him. Or perhaps he just wanted to go to Harry himself.

Sirius grasped Harry's small hand in his own large one, holding on as if his touch alone would keep the boy anchored here, with him. He took in Harry's pale features, and was shocked to discover bruises on his chin. Someone had pushed their fingers into Harry's face so hard it had left marks. Sirius gently ran his hand down the boy's face, lowering his own in outrage. "What happened to my godson?" he whispered, his voice taking on a deadly tone.

"We found him handcuffed to his bed and locked in his room. As if he could have gone very far with his door locked, they felt they had to strap him down as well," Remus said, incensed. "Severus is worried about his health," he mentioned, and all eyes swiveled to the dark man now standing with Madam Pomfrey.

"What are they talking about?" asked Sirius, maneuvering Harry's hand until he could hold it in a

more comfortable position. He was afraid he'd hurt the cuts around the boy's wrist as well. They were deep, and he could only assume Harry had struggled against his restraints. The mere idea had his jaw clenched.

Remus sighed darkly, but before he could tell the two men what he'd been told back at the house regarding Harry's health, Severus was rushing back over with Poppy, both carrying vials and brandishing their wands.

"What's going on?" asked Sirius as Poppy took Harry's hand out of his own and began running her wand all over the boy's unresponsive body.

"I'm checking for the extent of his malnutrition and injuries," she said quietly before narrowing her eyes in anger. "You're right," she suddenly said to Severus. "His life is hanging in the balance, here. Where are those potions?"

Sirius was struggling against hands again as he tried to get back to his godson. "What the hell does that mean? Is he going to be all right?" he asked, but received no answer. He could tell they were racing against the clock for some reason, but surely Harry couldn't be that bad, could he? Looking at his godson's lifeless body, he began to think otherwise.

Poppy finally glanced up and met Black's eyes when Severus started pouring more potions down Harry's throat. "He's been deprived of food and water for so long that his body is shutting down. We're trying to reverse those effects."

Gaping in wide-eyed horror, Sirius suddenly found himself going limp in the hands holding him back. "But, he'll be okay, right?" he asked, desperately needing to know.

"I'm honestly not sure. If you'd been an hour later," she muttered, glancing towards Remus to let him know she was talking about him. "He wouldn't have survived."

It was completely incomprehensible that something of this magnitude had happened to his godson in the amount of time he'd been gone from this world. He knew it couldn't have been that long since he'd been gone, only a few months at best. "How long has this kind of treatment gone on? How long have they been hurting him like this?" he asked, his voice nearly breaking. "Didn't anyone notice?"

An ashamed look crossed his best friend's face and Sirius suddenly locked gazes with the other man. "Remus?" he asked, not willing to believe Remus could ever be anything but diligent when it came to Harry.

"Harry was supposed to send us a letter every three days," he started to explain, going into detail how they had threatened Vernon Dursley at the train station at the end of the school year.

"And he'd been sending you the letters on schedule?" asked Sirius, not quite understanding how a mistake could have occurred quite the way it had.

"Yes, at first he was. The last one I got also happened to coincide with the date we were told you

were still alive inside the Veil," he said, lowering his eyes apologetically. "I'm so sorry, Sirius. I

didn't realize I hadn't received another letter until the day you asked about him."

Sirius couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for the man as tears trickled down Remus' face. He'd never been so angry in all his life. "Harry knew you would check on him if he hadn't written in three days?" he asked, his voice gone cold.

Albus was the one who nodded; Remus was too upset to even speak. "My godson expected you to help him when he didn't reply to your letters, he thought you would

come for him, and yet…no one came when he needed you the most. You left him there, with those abusive bastards…" he trailed off, knowing he was about to get

really and truly upset. He had no desire to destroy the hospital wing, not when Harry was in need of it. Clutching the bedcovers in his hands repetitively, Sirius glared at the ones he thought he could trust his life with. His life just so happened to be Harry.

"Sirius, please, there was more to it than you can imagine. I'm sure no one meant to do this. It was just a matter of circumstance. You can't really think any of us would intentionally leave the boy there without checking on him," persuaded Albus. "Honestly, the news of your return was just so shocking."

Sirius scoffed. "You're trying to blame this on my return? I don't think so, Headmaster. It should not have mattered! Your first and only concern should have been the safety of this boy!" he shouted. "And you all failed miserably!"

A raised hand to silence him from Poppy was all that kept the man from screaming a bit more. "I'm sorry, Poppy," he said reproachfully, but not really feeling all that contrite about yelling at his friend or the Headmaster. He felt truly in his rights on that subject.

"We've stabilized him," started Madam Pomfrey, getting everyone's attention straight away. "I think he should make it now. It was close there for a while, though," she said, shaking her head in regret. "I can't believe how malnourished he's become. It's simply unforgivable what those Muggles have done to him. Simply unforgivable," she muttered, more to herself than the others.

Sighing, Sirius went to Harry's bed and picked up the boy's hand once more. Thankfully, the bruises and cuts were gone, vanished from his body. Sirius didn't think he'd ever be able to forget they were there, though. Seeing his godson in such a condition would probably haunt his nightmares for years to come. Almost losing him was a living nightmare in itself.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Sirius, taking the matter of Harry's living conditions into his own hands. "He's not going back there ever again, Albus. And if you think you can convince me otherwise, I'll tell you right now…I will leave and take Harry with me before I'll ever let you put this child back in the Dursley's abusive hands. Mark my words. We will be gone and you will never see us again. Don't think I can't or won't do it," he said menacingly. "You know for a fact that I can."

Albus looked sad and hurt. "I would never send Harry back to his relatives. I regret that I ever sent him there in the first place. It was a mistake, I realize now. I never intended for things to get so bad," he implored. "Sirius, you can't believe I would have allowed this to go on had I known."

Looking as if he was seriously contemplating it, Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. How far would you go to insure the safety of this child, just so he could destroy Voldemort?" he asked, his voice gone cold once more. "Only, you didn't take into consideration how volatile his Uncle could be, did you? And what's worse, it was obvious Harry hated it there, yet you sent him back year after year. Can't any of you people take a hint?" his tone was almost deadly to those who heard it.

Raising a hand to his head, as if trying to ward off a headache, Remus sighed tiredly. "We just didn't know, Sirius. I'm sorry. We didn't know," he murmured. "He's not going back. I can guarantee that, and so will Dumbledore."

Albus nodded his agreement. "We'll put him somewhere safe, absolutely. And it won't be in the Dursley's dubious care."

"I want him with me," insisted Sirius, standing up to face the two men. "Since I can't trust anyone else with his safety, I want him."

Grimacing, Remus tried to placate his friend. "Sirius, I can understand how you feel right now. We did seemingly abandon Harry when he needed us. We were too focused on you, and I will forever be ashamed of doing so. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to look Harry in the face again, not without feeling tremendous guilt," he said quietly. "I have to wonder if Harry will ever forgive me…" he trailed off at a whispered voice.

"You people complain too much," whispered Harry, attempting and failing to sit up as his arms shook weakly beneath him. "How did I get here?" he wondered aloud, looking up into the shocked faces of the adults surrounding him. "What?"

They were all just staring at him. Having the boy be so close to death's door just a few moments before, it seemed completely odd that Harry was now awake and trying to move.

As Harry scanned the men above him, his eyes locked onto a face he didn't think he'd ever see again. He found he was staring just as much as they were staring at him, and couldn't hide the fact that his mouth was about to drop open. "I've lost my mind," he muttered, attempting once more to bodily lift himself off of the bed. "You're dead," he whispered, finally getting his weak body to roll over, away from the man he couldn't possibly be seeing.

A gentle touch on his shoulder had him cringing and batting at the hand unaffectedly. "No. You're not…what the hell is going on?" he screamed hoarsely. It was obvious he was in the Hospital Wing. He saw Albus and Remus and tried to hear what they were telling him, but his ears seemed to suddenly be ringing and all he could hear was Sirius' voice.

Shaking from head to toe, Harry couldn't seem to do anything for himself. He was still too drained to move and felt completely defenseless. There was something wrong with this situation he had awakened to and he wanted it to go away. As much as he wanted Sirius to be alive, he knew he couldn't be. Remus had told him Sirius had died! He raised his hands and covered his face, wishing he could just disappear or that the three men would just go away. Feeling more and more like he was going to pass out, Harry realized there was a hand on his back, trying to comfort him. He knew that touch. He'd know it anywhere.

"Oh God," he whispered, feeling broken and unsure. He looked up into Remus' eyes as tears filled his own green orbs. "Remus, what…?" he whispered. "Is it? You said he was…"

"I think he's a little shocked," said Poppy, coming out of her office. "Seeing someone he had thought to be dead without knowledge that he was in fact alive can be very stunning to say the least," she said, coming to stand beside Harry's bedside.

Sirius couldn't seem to hold himself back any longer and pulled Harry's unresisting form into his arms. "It's me, Harry. I'm right here. I'm so sorry I left you. I'm so sorry, please calm down," he whispered, rubbing his hands up and down the boy's thin back. "I'm right here."

Those words and the comforting hug he found himself in were what finally pulled Harry back into reality. And he realized he was really and truly in his godfather's arms. He somehow managed to wrap his own arms around Sirius and clung to him as tightly as he could. Feeling the tears pooling in his eyes, Harry wiped futilely with his sleeve, but they kept pouring out of him. He hadn't cried in ages and now he couldn't seem to stop.

Crying was draining his already weakened body and he sagged helplessly into Sirius' arms. "I missed you so much," he whispered. "Where were you? What happened?" he asked tiredly. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Harry, I'm fine. Please, don't worry about me. I'll be here for a long time in coming if I have anything to say about it. I'm more concerned about you," he whispered, running a hand down Harry's head and letting his fingers rub into the boy's hair. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."

"It's okay," said Harry softly.

"No, it's not okay, Harry. I should have been there for you. We all should have been there. You're just a child trying to survive against a monster who didn't even deserve to have you in his life," he said, holding Harry closer to his chest. "You shouldn't have had to."

Harry shrugged. "I've always had to."

A low growl had Harry looking up from his position against his godfather's chest. He noticed it was Remus who had made the noise, not Sirius. Though, Sirius looked about as angry as he had ever seen him.

Harry cringed, unsure of why everyone looked so mad. He couldn't really recall all that had happened, but he did know his Uncle had been his usual charming self. In the sense that he was a charming bastard. He only wished no one would be upset on his behalf. Really, he didn't need anyone to take care of him. He was getting rather good at doing it himself, so long as he wasn't being locked in his room.

"Don't be upset," he pleaded, sitting up a bit more, or as much as he could with Sirius still clinging to him.

"We're not upset at you, Harry. Never at you," remarked Remus quickly, laying a reassuring hand on the boy's face.

"I didn't think you were. I just don't want you to be upset at all. It just happened, it's not that big of a deal," he said, trying to remember what all had happened. Somehow, he couldn't seem to recall it all. He vaguely remembered something hurting his wrist and feeling as if his tongue had swollen to the size of a pear, but he couldn't remember anything else. Only those horrible sensations of starving and being so thirsty. "How did I get here?" he asked.

"I wanted to see you as soon as I was well," said Sirius, causing Harry to look the man in the face for the first time. The emaciated frame of before was almost gone, yet he still looked slightly sick and in need of more healthy meals. Much like himself, he reckoned. He was just happy the man was alive and with him. Suddenly needing more contact, he leaned into his godfather's chest once more and instantly felt the arms wrap around him.

"I really missed you," he said quietly, then sighed. "I'm sorry for interrupting."

Sirius hugged him tighter. "Don't be," he whispered, before continuing with the story. He explained to Harry what had happened with the Veil and how he had been desperate to see Harry. The boy was stunned when Remus told of what condition he had been found in and that not only Remus had come to his rescue, but Severus Snape as well.

"That's just strange," he said, garnering a laugh from those present in the room.

"I assure you, it was just as strange to him. I don't believe he knew what type of people your relatives were until that moment. I dare say the man was a little irate himself over your condition," said Remus, looking about the Wing to make sure Severus was indeed gone.

Harry nodded, a little distracted. "So, that's why it took you so long to get there?" he finally asked, making Remus and Professor Dumbledore flinch. "You were getting Sirius out of the Veil?"

Frowning darkly, Sirius gently took Harry's hand but before he could speak, Remus beat him to it.

"It's no excuse for not checking on you, Harry. You were our first priority, and we failed you in the most horrible way," he said, rubbing his hands together a little anxiously. "I can't tell you how sorry we are for not checking on you sooner. We should have, and we didn't," he said. "Can you ever forgive us? Forgive me?"

"I didn't blame you in the first place," said Harry, a little confused. "There's no need to be forgiven," he said, but opened his arms for a hug just the same.

Remus quickly took the boy into his arms, holding Harry close and spoke softly into his ear. "Harry, you may not blame us, but you should. I know you haven't grown up in a very stable environment, and that is part of the reason that you don't understand how wrong we were. But we were, and it will never happen again."

Harry nodded at the man and at Dumbledore as well since he looked just as adamant about it as the one holding him, and wondered why he still felt like they hadn't really done anything wrong. He felt they were justified in forgetting him. Getting Sirius out of that Veil was absolutely the most important thing at the time. Harry refused to believe he was anything more than a nuisance whose plight had taken away from the rescue effort mounted for Sirius. It was a smart move not to tell them that, though.

…………………

Later that evening, Harry sat on his bed in Grimmauld Place. As soon as he had been stable they had moved him to the safest place they could come up with. It was obvious he wouldn't be returning to his Uncle ever again and he was still feeling the effects of the abuse he had suffered there. It was difficult to move and even more difficult to navigate about the house for any long period of time. Making it up the stairs had been a challenge he had needed help with once he'd put aside his stubbornness and asked for it. Falling sort of put things into perspective though and he was lucky Sirius had been right behind him to catch him.

It was well past midnight and Harry was far from wanting to fall to sleep. He feared the nightmares he would have. He feared the memories that would come to him when he wasn't able to stop them from coming. And most of all, he feared closing his eyes, for every time he did he saw his Uncle's face. The man was a nightmare all on his own. The idea of falling asleep and waking back up in his relatives clutches kept repeating over and over in his mind. Logically, he knew it wasn't going to happen, but in dreams…anything and everything seemed real, even being returned to his awful family.

He tried thinking about other things; he tried to imagine what Ron and Hermione had been doing over their summer breaks, and came up empty. His thoughts all returned to the same thing. His Uncle, or the fight he'd heard between the Headmaster, Sirius and Remus. They'd argued about him. He was incredibly happy Sirius had wanted him with him, but he feared more than ever that he would realize how much of a brat he was and lock him away like his Uncle had. Again, he knew somewhere deep inside that Sirius loved him, but it was almost a foreign concept that he couldn't seem to grasp. No one had ever wanted him before, why would they start now.

Feeling the sudden need to be out of his room and in a more open area, Harry got up and headed carefully and quietly for the door and down the stairs. He had to stop more than once to keep a stair or loose floorboard from creaking under his considerably slight weight. Not to mention his frequent stops to catch his breath. Almost ten minutes after he'd left his room he finally managed to make it to the kitchen. Pushing open the door he stopped short.

"Harry, what are you doing up?" asked Sirius, instantly rising from his chair and coming to the boy's aid.

He hadn't realized it, but he was swaying a bit. Harry flushed down to his roots in embarrassment. Not only was Sirius in the room, but the Weasleys were there as well. Grudgingly accepting the help, Harry was taken to a chair and gently pushed into it.

Smiling weakly at Molly who had moved from her seat to the one next to his own, Harry tried not to let his embarrassment get the best of him. "What are you lot doing here?" he asked. He hadn't known they were here and wondered if they were staying here again. As it turned out, they were.

"It's safer here, sweet heart. And I know the boys will all be thrilled when they see you arrived while they were sleeping, not to mention Hermione. She arrived two days ago.

Harry nodded, wishing now that he'd been able to come earlier as well, instead of staying in his own personal hell at the Dursley's.

A hand on his face made him flinch away from the touch instinctively, but as he looked up into Mrs. Weasley's startled face, he cringed for another reason. "I'm sorry," he mumbled and caught a dark look coming from Sirius before his eyes could lower like they wanted to. He wasn't sure if his godfather was mad at him or for the reason he'd flinched in the first place. People grabbing at his face held a disturbing memory in his mind now.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for, Harry!" stated Molly adamantly. "We heard what happened, dear. If only you'd been able to come with us for the summer. I'll regret that I didn't ask Albus more often to let you stay," she said tearfully and Harry found himself in a very tight hug. "You poor child, you never get a break, do you? If it's not one thing it's another."

With her hands still gingerly holding his face, she pulled Harry back so she could get a good look at him. "You are looking a bit pale, Harry. Have you gotten any sleep yet?" she asked when she finally released Harry from her motherly grasp.

Shaking his head tiredly, Harry laid his head down against his arms on the table.

"Harry, why don't we get you back upstairs for bed?" asked Sirius imploringly, taking hold of Harry's thin arm. Sirius still couldn't get over how thin the boy had become. He was so small now, even smaller than he'd been before, and that was saying something.

"I can't sleep," mumbled Harry and drew his arm out of his godfather's hands.

The hand that had been on his arm was moved to his back and he felt Sirius start to rub in circles. Before he knew what was happening Harry's eyes were drifting close as sleep tried to overtake him. Harry tried to rise up, not wanting to sleep, but Sirius easily kept him still with only one hand. "Sleep, Harry. Don't worry about anything else."

Harry drifted in and out of sleep, his thoughts keeping him from truly slipping under, and hearing Sirius and Mrs. Weasley talking about him kept him struggling to stay awake a bit longer.

"You're still angry at them, aren't you?" he heard Mrs. Weasley mutter and suddenly felt a hand on his forehead, gently rubbing there until he was fighting even harder to stay awake.

After a disgruntled sigh, Sirius said, "I realize they were trying to find me, but Harry is just a child. They promised him they would come for him if there was a lack of correspondence from him. It had been much longer than three days, Molly," he said angrily. "He almost died."

Somehow, Harry hadn't known how close he'd come to leaving this world permanently. He hadn't realized how bad it had been. It was somewhat shocking and it took all his willpower not to gasp out loud.

"But he didn't, Sirius. He's going to be fine now."

Another loud sigh and it sounded like Sirius had just slammed down his fork. Harry found himself stupidly wondering what the man had been eating. "Just look at him, Molly. He's nearly wasted away. I can wrap my entire hand around his forearm!" he hissed and heard Mrs. Weasley berating him to keep his voice down.

"I know you're upset, Sirius. But, Remus is your best friend. He loves Harry as much as you do, I dare say. Have you looked at his face? He's miserable over this. You can't honestly keep the man from seeing Harry."

This was another shock to have landed on his shoulders in the past five minutes. And that just wasn't going to work for him. If he didn't blame Remus, how could Sirius? But then his godfather was speaking again and he realized he didn't really have to fight for Lupin's honor.

"Oh, of course I won't stop him from seeing him. I know he loves Harry, and deep down I know he didn't do it on purpose. I just can't stop seeing Harry tied down to that bed when he was supposed to be cared for and safe. You just don't understand, Molly. You didn't see what they had done to my godson."

There was a moment of silence while Mrs. Weasley seemed to take in this news. She had gasped at what Sirius had just told her, making Harry believe she hadn't known all the details of his incarceration at his Aunt and Uncle's home. Though, Harry hadn't been completely aware, either. He had remembered most of it, but he'd forgotten his Uncle's penchant for tying him down when he pissed him off. How he had was beyond him, but he sure as hell had managed to forget it.

Completely awake now, Harry tried to keep his breathing normal and keep his eyes shut without making it obvious that he was eavesdropping on their conversation. He felt bad doing so, but knew they wouldn't tell him otherwise.

"I hadn't realized they had treated him so poorly. I mean, I knew they hadn't been kind to him, but to tie him to his bed," she said sadly, and Harry once again felt a hand on his back, rubbing gently. "The poor child, he must have been so frightened, locked up and starved," her voice cracked. "I think I can understand more fully now how upset you were."

No one spoke and Harry assumed Sirius had nodded.

Letting out a quivering sigh, he heard Molly stand up and then walk to where he assumed his godfather was sitting. "We're so happy to have you back, Sirius. And I know Harry is more than happy to finally have you back in his life."

Then she was gone and it was just himself and Sirius in the room. Harry couldn't help himself; he sat up slowly and looked his godfather in the eyes. Sirius looked startled.

"You're awake," he said softly and grunted in surprise when Harry fell into his arms, but wrapped them tightly around his godson.

"Thank you for coming back to me," whispered Harry, before finally drifting off to sleep in the safe comfort of his godfather's embrace.

_Hi everyone. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter of Broken Dreams. The next update should be in about 2 weeks. A very special thanks goes out to Nita, my beta. She's been with me since the middle of SIB II, and I really do appreciate her hard work! Thank you all for reading my stories and please don't forget to review!_


	4. To Be Loved

The light was just streaming in through the windows when Harry woke up the next morning. He blearily opened his eyes and found himself in his own bed and wondered how he had gotten there. The last he remembered, he had been downstairs talking with Sirius. Realizing he must have fallen asleep he came to the conclusion that Sirius must have carried him upstairs at some point and put him to bed. The thought wasn't all together a horrible one, but he was a little embarrassed knowing his godfather had picked him up and moved him and he hadn't even been aware of it.

Flinging his legs over the side of the bed, Harry carefully stood up and wasn't at all surprised when he felt his world tilt. Grabbing the side of his bed, Harry let himself slide back down until he didn't feel quite so dizzy. When it seemed as if he could stand back up without falling over, he tried again, managing to make it to the door without flailing his arms out to grab something to hold himself up with.

It seemed that the potions they had given him yesterday didn't last into today. Going for over a week without food couldn't be fixed in just a day, he realized. Magic could only go so far.

Harry had forgotten how weak he got after his Uncle felt the need to starve him for days on end, but this was worse than ever before. He wanted to just go back and lay down on his bed, but more than that, he wanted to see Sirius again. Trudging on, he opened the door and fell right into Ron and Hermione's arms.

"Harry!" they exclaimed, and he knew from their voices that they hadn't been told he was here yet. They'd probably just gotten up themselves. Ron had to wrap his arms around Harry's waist and pull him up because Harry suddenly couldn't stand on his own.

"Harry?" asked Hermione, fright sounding in her voice as she grabbed one of his arms in an effort to assist Ron. "What is going on here?" she asked.

Harry couldn't see her face, but her tone of voice was telling him everything. She was confused and frightened, and he could only imagine what Ron was feeling and thinking, considering he seemed to be at a lack of words and was just doing his best to hold him up. He heard more footsteps coming from down the hall and more voices.

"Is that Harry?"

It was one of the twins voices, he was sure, and suddenly he was lifted into strong arms and his head finally felt like it wasn't about to spin clear off his shoulders. It took a moment of just holding his head still against someone's shoulder, but finally he was able to look up and into the eyes of four very worried friends. He lowered his eyes, suddenly finding someone's shirt very fascinating.

Fred was holding him and Harry felt his face heat up. "You can put me down now," he mumbled, but no one moved. Daring to look at his friends again, he saw deep concern on all of their faces. He wasn't sure what to tell them. In fact, he didn't know if he wanted to tell them anything about what had happened to him. He knew his appearance was a dead giveaway that something had happened over the brief time they had all been away from each other and their reunion just now had been nothing short of a disaster. There was no way he could keep this a secret.

He felt someone pick up his arm and looked up. Hermione was studying his thin limb with a look of utmost loathing on her face. Harry wrenched his arm away and tried to pull out of Fred's arms. He wrongly assumed Hermione thought he was a disgusting freak, something his Uncle had told him numerous times. The look on her face had caused him to believe what the man had been telling him.

He managed to get on his feet, but Fred's arms around his chest easily kept him from moving much further. "Let go of me!" he hissed angrily, but suddenly Hermione had a hold of his face, causing him to flinch instinctively and burrow into Fred instead of fight against him.

"Oh my God," she whispered.

Fred was trying to wrap him in a hug, but Harry was too confused to allow much of anything. "Get off," he said hoarsely, and finally managed to yank himself free. He managed to stand up for all of five seconds before he fell to the floor. He growled weakly in frustration.

A presence stooped down beside him and Harry found himself face to face with Hermione and Ron once more. Hermione's face was void of all the anger she had been feeling earlier, leaving nothing but fear and worry. "What happened to you?" she asked, slowly placing her arm on his shoulder. He allowed the touch and she smiled weakly at him.

Ron looked more concerned than Harry had ever seen him before. "You were with your relatives, right?" he asked suddenly, and Harry flinched. Ron nodded absentmindedly. "I thought maybe you'd been kidnapped by you-know-who," he whispered. "It wasn't him, was it?"

Harry shook his head.

Hermione was holding Harry's arm again, making him look at her and force back a flinch. "You're so tiny," she whispered, looking at his emaciated frame. Harry could tell by looking in her eyes that she knew what had happened. Hermione was brilliant, but it didn't take brilliance to realize what had happened to him. His wasted form told them all what had happened.

"That happens when you're not allowed to eat," he grumbled and winced when he heard everyone gasp.

"What?" asked Ron, his voice gone completely cold. Hermione looked on the verge of tears, but he didn't know if it was out of sadness or outrage.

"Was it your Uncle, then?" asked George.

Harry nodded his head and started to stand up again. Fred wrapped an arm around Harry's waist and pulled him up again. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked.

Harry shrugged. "I didn't feel this bad last night," he mumbled. "I think the potions they gave me yesterday wore off or something."

George was still stuck on the part where Harry's Uncle had apparently starved him half to death. "Wasn't the Order supposed to check on you every three days?" he asked.

Fred, Ron and Hermione all developed looks of confusion. "Yeah, weren't they?"

Shrugging his shoulders as if it didn't matter, Harry told them the second shocking discovery of the day. "They were saving Sirius. It's completely understandable that they forgot about me," he muttered before seeing the looks on their faces. "You didn't know?" he asked, shocked.

"No!" they all chorused. "When did this happen? Is he alive? Is he in the house?"

Harry was still flabbergasted. But, he supposed he and Sirius arrived at Grimmauld Place at the same time, leaving no opportunity for Sirius to be seen by anyone but the ones who were still awake last night. He was just shocked no one had told them about it. Although, he did think it was kind of nice to not be the only one kept in the dark.

"This is so amazing," said Hermione. "Can we see him?" she wondered aloud.

"I don't see why not," he whispered, feeling light headed. "I can show you where his room is," he took one step and started to fall.

"Hold up, Harry. I think we can wait on seeing Sirius until after we've done something for you," said Ron, and he motioned for Fred to pick Harry up once more.

"No!" said Harry, holding out his hand to forestall any picking up of any kind. "I don't need or want to be carried!" he said with as much determination as he could muster. He tried to prove himself by standing on his own, but again, he couldn't manage it. "This is so embarrassing," he muttered.

"Ready now?" asked Fred, preparing to take Harry up in his arms.

"No," muttered the much smaller boy irritably.

Fred picked him up any ways, and sighed. "I can't believe the Dursley's allowed you to get so thin," he said heatedly. "You're so underweight I think even Hermione could pick you up easily."

Harry looked a little indignant at that, but couldn't deny that he probably weighed even less than Hermione did now. That wasn't something he ever thought he would be, not willingly, at least. "I don't think they cared. Uncle Vernon was still so angry about the Order threatening him at the train station."

Hermione shook her head angrily. "So, by trying to protect you, we actually caused you more harm, didn't we?" she asked.

"Well, it wasn't your fault!" said Harry emphatically. "None of you could have known what was going to happen. I thought they'd listen," he said sadly. "But they didn't."

"Did they ever?" asked George offhandedly. "I still can't believe what they've done to you," he muttered as they all walked down the hallway.

A voice stopped them before they ever made it down the stairs. "What's going on?" asked a voice Harry hadn't thought he'd get to hear for a while.

"Remus," he said softly.

"He fell," stated Hermione. She failed to mention just how many times he'd actually fallen, thankfully. It was embarrassing enough as it was to be seen getting carried by his best friend's older brother.

"Harry, are you okay?" he asked, approaching the lot of them on the stairs. He motioned with his hands to Fred that he wanted to take the boy from his arms. "Let me take him," he said, and Harry was transported from one hold to another. As if his indignity couldn't be more destroyed, he practically passed out at the sudden movement.

"Whoa, Harry. Hold on, Severus brought more restorative draughts. Just hang on, Harry," spoke Remus soothingly.

Harry hated being treated like he was some type of porcelain doll, only this time, he felt like he _was_ made out of porcelain and could shatter at any moment. He'd never felt so out of sorts before and didn't like it one bit.

In the kitchen, he heard Sirius' voice for the first time since last night. "Harry!" he called, and he heard a chair scraping against the wooden floor. _Lovely_, he thought sarcastically, _now Sirius is going to flip out as well_. But, Sirius stayed surprisingly calm considering who had just carried his godson into the room.

"Here, set him down on the table," he heard someone order, and realized it was Professor Snape. And he had honestly thought his humiliation couldn't get any worse. To have Snape see him again like this, it was beyond embarrassing. This simply had to stop happening.

A vial was pressed to his lips and he quickly emptied it. Anything to stop the horrible feeling of being out of control. Once the potion took effect he shook his head to clear it and slumped backwards onto the thankfully empty table. It would have really been gross if he had fallen backwards onto a table filled with breakfast foods.

Sirius braced his hand onto the table to look down at his godson. "Better?" he asked concernedly.

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, I am now."

Severus pocketed the vial. "Are you still feeling disoriented?" he asked, watching Harry closely. It was very disconcerting to have Severus Snape looking at him like he actually gave a damn.

"A little dizzy, I guess, but nothing like before. I couldn't even stand up straight earlier."

"Yes, we noticed," said Sirius.

Harry raised a hand and Sirius pulled him upwards until he was sitting up. After a momentary wave of dizziness, his head cleared and he felt fine. "I feel much better now," he told them and slid into a seat.

"Sirius," the whispered voice belonged to Hermione and Harry watched with a small smile on his face as she gave his godfather a hug. "You're alive."

Ron and the twins were next in line, shaking Sirius' hand one after the other. "It's good to see you," they said.

Harry wondered why they kept looking from Sirius to him, but was too interested in watching Sirius to really care. His godfather looked much better now, especially after having a good night's sleep. He'd been worried about him at first, but now that he got a good clear look at him without feeling like he was about to pass out, he could see his health had been restored, at least partially. He looked much better. Harry wondered how long it would take before he started to feel completely better, too.

"So, Harry's going to stay with you now, right?" asked Ron, looking towards Sirius.

Harry looked up from the breakfast Mrs. Weasley had placed in front of him. He hadn't honestly thought about where he would go after all of this. He assumed he'd just stay there at Grimmauld Place. He hadn't thought that Sirius might have his own place to go to. He wouldn't want to take Harry with him though; he'd just be another burden he'd have to deal with now that he had gotten his life back. Harry refused to be a burden to his godfather. He just wouldn't.

"Sweety, you've got to remember that Sirius is still considered a fugitive from the Ministry. For the moment, Harry wouldn't be safe with Sirius being constantly in hiding," Ron looked saddened, and his mother placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everything will work out, don't worry."

"I'm hopeful that eventually I'll be cleared of all charges that were filed against me. But until that time, Harry wouldn't be safe with me," said Sirius, upset at not being able to take his godson home with him. Eventually, he would have his home back and he vowed he would give Harry the life he'd never been given.

Harry stared down at his plate, suddenly feeling extremely heart sick. Deep down he had known Sirius wouldn't be able to take him in. He'd even swore to himself that he wouldn't let his godfather take him in out of some sense of obligation just because he was his godson. But, he had hoped Sirius would want him and would want to take him with him wherever he went, even if he was on the run. He understood that it wasn't safe. He still just wanted someone to just take care of him for once in his life.

"So, where am I going to go?" he finally asked. "I won't go to an orphanage," he stated adamantly. He looked up and found Molly right in front of him. She tried to take his face in her hands, as she was prone to do, but he automatically flinched from the touch. She sighed tiredly and put one hand to her mouth.

"We would never send you to an orphanage, Harry. Never," she spoke so unwaveringly that Harry had no choice but to believe her.

"Then where will I stay?" Harry was stabbing his fork into his plate unconsciously. He didn't even realize he was doing it until Sirius took his small wrist into his large hand.

"Stop, Harry. You know I'd take you if I could, don't you?" he asked, clearly doubtful if Harry did indeed know this fact.

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, of course," he said, but wouldn't meet Sirius' eyes, even when Sirius placed his fingers under Harry's chin to tip the boy's face up.

"Somehow, I don't think you do," he whispered.

Harry met his eyes then and saw nothing but love coming from his godfather's eyes. "You don't have to, you know. Even when you do get freed, you don't have to. I wouldn't want to stop you from doing whatever it was you had planned to do with your life," said Harry sadly. "I don't want to be a burden to you, too."

Sirius gasped and grabbed Harry's arm without thinking about what he was doing.

"Don't!" yelled Harry, momentarily forgetting where he was, and flung his entire body away from him. His breaths were coming in harsh gasps and he held his hand to his heart to somehow calm himself down. "Sorry…sorry," he muttered, trying to skirt away from the entire group.

He had nearly made it out the door before Remus wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. "Calm down, Harry," he whispered, but the boy was still struggling against him. Of course, Harry was no match for Remus, and he eventually gave up, sagging against the older man.

"I want to go upstairs now," stated Harry into Remus' chest, but either no one heard him or they just chose to ignore his request. Harry figured it was the later rather than the former. No one seemed to listen to him lately, any way. The Dursley's ignored him when he had told them he was hungry and thirsty, now he was being denied what he needed once again. Seclusion from everyone else.

"We need to discuss this…flinching away when people move to touch you," stated Molly, and Harry was instantly struggling against Remus once more.

"No. I want to go upstairs," he said fiercely, and nearly succeeded in pulling away, but the man grabbed his arm just when he was about to reach the door and pulled him back. But they didn't realize how desperate they were making Harry feel. As Harry's heart started to pound more fiercely in his chest, Harry became more vicious as he fought. As a last resort, he bit into Remus's arm, not enough to break through skin, but enough to shock the man into letting him go.

Harry thought he was free, but the next thing he knew he was grabbed around the waist, picked up, and was suddenly carried into the next room. He heard the door slam behind him and someone cast a locking and silencing charm on the door. He was shocked to see it wasn't Sirius who had bodily taken him from the others, but Severus Snape.

"What are you doing?" asked Harry, slightly concerned for his own safety. He reached for his wand, only to discover it wasn't there.

"Get a grip, Potter," stated Snape, rolling his eyes heavenward. "I have no intention of harming you."

"I didn't think you were going to hurt me," Harry tried to defend himself, but Snape continued to watch him with a hard stare. "Okay, so maybe it crossed my mind…" he muttered, trailing off.

"Unlike your relatives, I don't take pleasure in the abuse of children," he muttered darkly. Harry was under the distinct impression he was not supposed to have heard that.

"Well, why did you pull me out of there, then?" he asked curiously.

Severus shrugged non-committally. "I thought you were a bit overwhelmed. Black and Lupin were of the same ridiculous opinion that forcing you to talk would be a splendid idea," he spat. "I disagreed."

Harry bristled a bit, but even still felt grateful that the man had pulled him out of what could have potentially turned into a panic attack, for Harry at least. "I don't think they would have forced me," he said out of defense of his godfather and Remus.

"Be that as it may, they were going about the entire situation in the wrong way," he said, and Harry couldn't help but stare.

"There's a right way to this type of thing?" he inquired.

Snape shook his head. "No, I don't believe there is," he muttered, and then looked into Harry's eyes.

Harry ripped his gaze away, worried the man was about to Legilimize him, something he couldn't possibly protect himself against at the moment. He hadn't practiced defending his mind against an attack, for one, and he was in no shape physically, either. He wouldn't be able to put up a fight at all.

Feeling a hand placed gently on his shoulder was what finally made him look up. He hadn't realized it, but he had slammed his eyes shut. Opening them slowly, he looked into Severus Snape's concerned gaze. Never before had he seen that look coming from Snape and directed towards him, Harry Potter. It was almost too strange for words. "Are you quite all right, Potter?" he asked, equally stunning Harry.

"Y-yes," he stammered. "Sorry, I thought for a moment…" he trailed off, but he could tell that Snape had figured out precisely what he had been about to say.

"I had not planned to do that to you, Potter. You're in no condition to withstand that type of attack at the moment, mentally or physically," he stated, confirming Harry's earlier thoughts about his own state.

"Sorry," he repeated, feeling unsure of this entire situation. "Why are you in here with me?" he finally asked.

Snape looked irritated. "I've told you already, Potter. You seemed overwhelmed and in need of a break from those imbeciles."

Harry flinched. "Don't talk about them like that."

"How thoughtless of me," stated Snape in a sardonic tone. "I shall endeavor not to speak of them so lowly again," he said in such a way that Harry knew he was just being hateful.

"You don't have to be mean."

Severus merely shrugged his black clad shoulders and walked towards the fireplace before he grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Once I've gone through, the silencing and locking spells I've put on the door will come down, Potter," he warned before flooing away.

Harry could only stare at the place Snape had been standing as the door behind him was suddenly thrown open and a stampede of angry and concerned people rushed from the room. "Harry, are you all right?" asked Sirius, taking Harry's thin shoulders to turn him away from the fireplace. "Did he hurt you?" he asked, his face so filled with anger that Harry took a step back.

"Of course he didn't," he stated, confused. "Why would he?"

Ron looked flabbergasted. "The great git picked you up and ran out of the room!" he yelled. "We thought he was going to kill you or something!"

"Ron! Don't be so dramatic!" hushed Hermione, while she placed a hand on Harry's arm. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. He was just trying to help me out, actually."

The entire room went silent. "Say what?" asked Fred.

"He saw that I was 'overwhelmed', as he put it, and took me out of the room," he explained to them.

"That was all?" asked Sirius. Harry stood still as the man wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a half-hug. It felt really nice to be hugged right then.

"Yes, that was all," he said, leaning his head against his godfather's shoulder.

"And, you're okay?" asked Remus.

"I'm fine, a little tired, but fine," he answered truthfully for once.

"It's still early, but I think a short nap would do you good, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley. Harry saw her arm move and knew she was contemplating touching him in some type of comforting manner, but stopped herself when she caught him looking at her. She smiled sadly at him, and Harry smiled weakly in return.

"I think I will, actually," decided Harry. Ron and Hermione both looked like they wanted to walk him upstairs, probably to talk more about what was going on, but it was Sirius who gently took his arm and led him away. They were both silent as they climbed the stairs but when they reached Harry's bedroom, Sirius finally spoke.

"I would like to talk about what happened with your relatives, Harry," he said slowly, and Harry stopped completely where he stood.

"Why? You pretty much saw what they did. What else do you need to know?" he asked, scuffing his shoe against the wooden floor.

Sirius sighed. "Well, I would like to know why you never told anyone, for starters."

Harry looked up at him and grimaced. "No one ever believed me when I told before, why would they start now?"

"What?" The look on Sirius' face was incredulous. "You mean you told someone and they didn't believe you?"

Opening his door, Harry walked inside his bedroom and went to sit on his bed. He avoided his godfather's eyes at all costs. "It was more along the lines of someone reported them to the Department of Child and Family Services, and they completely ignored what was happening. This man came, a social worker I guess, and did interviews with the entire family," Harry said tiredly, leaning back against his pillows and staring at the ceiling. "The Dursley's lied through their teeth, of course, and I was glared and threatened into silence when they realized who the man was."

"Did this social worker person ask you any questions privately so your relatives couldn't intimidate you?" he asked, having no real knowledge of what a social worker was supposed to do and say in this type of situation. But, he supposed they were a bit like the Ministry when they took abused children from their homes and the same type of investigation would occur as with the Ministry. The children were always taken away from the possible threat to ensure they weren't being intimidated into keeping quiet about the situation.

"No, it was almost like a group interview. I couldn't tell the man what was going on with the Dursley's sitting there looking ready to flay me alive if I so much as looked at the guy wrong. So I kept quiet, but the man had to have known. He asked to see my room and Uncle Vernon showed him the guest bedroom where Aunt Marge usually stayed when she visited. That doesn't even look like a kid's room, let alone like it had been lived in for a few months. He didn't do anything about it, and I got punished after he left. They thought I had called or something, or used my 'freaky' powers to get someone's attention," he said, rolling over onto his side as he gazed sadly at his godfather, but still wouldn't meet the man's eyes. "I think my Uncle might have paid the guy off, looking back. They had been whispering to each other before the interview really began, and the social worker kept looking at me like I was the enemy, not the Dursley's."

Sirius was outraged. "How old were you?" he wondered.

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, and Sirius knew he was doing the math in his head. "About eight, I think."

"Eight…so I take it this type of behavior from the Dursley's has been going on for a while?" he asked quietly.

Harry just nodded his head but remained silent.

Sirius sighed once more and gently ran his fingers through Harry's hair, massaging the boy's scalp until Harry's eyes began to drift closed. He continued the massage until he was certain his godson was completely asleep then bent down and placed a light kiss on his forehead. Gazing at his godson sadly, he wished for about the hundredth time that he hadn't gone after Peter. He wished he had stayed with Harry and kept him safe. If he had, none of this would have happened. Harry could have had a childhood if he had just _stayed_.

………………………….

A mere thirty minutes was all the rest Harry received before the nightmares began.

In his dreams, everything seemed so real. "No, Uncle," he muttered, unconsciously trying to move his wrist away from his invisible assailant. If he was restrained, he wouldn't be able to see Sirius again. He wasn't sure why he thought this, but he knew he had to get away from his deranged family. "Sirius," he moaned.

Black stood up from his seat beside Harry's bed, instantly aware that something was wrong. Reaching forward, he grabbed Harry's hand and tried to soothe the boy. "Come on kid, everything is all right. Wake up," he implored with his now thrashing godson. "Harry, you're okay, wake up!"

Only, holding onto Harry's hand wasn't helping at all, it was doing the opposite, in fact. A whimper escaped from Harry's lips as he tried futilely to get free. "No, no, no, don't," he cried, moaning in his distress. "Siri, please, Sirius," he begged. "Don't let him…I can't…don't let him tie me down! Sirius!"

"Harry, baby, I'm right here," his heart was clenching at his godson's cries. It was killing him that the poor child wouldn't or couldn't wake up. He berated himself for making Harry talk about his past directly before he had fallen asleep. Look where it had gotten them. Considering everything he had tried hadn't worked, he grabbed Harry's arms and pulled him upright and onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around his godson and rocked him back and forth, rubbing his back in circles. "It's okay, kiddo. I'm right here," he said.

Shockingly, it was holding Harry in such a way that finally calmed him down. Sirius hadn't been sure how he would react to being grabbed and held in place, but it seemed Harry had needed the security he had offered by holding him.

Harry's eyes slowly opened and he blearily looked up into his godfather's face. "Sirius?" he asked, not entirely aware of what was going on. All he knew was that he felt safe and secure.

"Are you all right now?" inquired Sirius, running his fingers through the boy's hair again.

It finally dawned on Harry that he had had a nightmare, which was why Sirius was holding him so snuggly in his arms right now. It was such a nice sensation that he didn't pull away as soon as he discovered what was happening. This was the type of thing he'd always dreamed of happening when he had been younger. Having a bad dream and being able to have someone who actually cared about him to help him through it. He'd never had this before, and he didn't want to let it go just yet.

"I'm better now," he whispered, but tightened his hold on his godfather's shirt-front just the same.

Sirius pulled him closer, as if sensing Harry's need to be close. "It's okay now," he said quietly. "Would you like to talk about your dream?" he asked after a moment of peaceful quietness.

"It was just the usual," he said tiredly, still needing more rest but not daring to go back to sleep after what had just happened.

"I think you were dreaming of the time right before Snape and Remus came to rescue you," he said, just throwing out guesses, but he was fairly certain he was right. He felt the boy nod against his shoulder but no further words were spoken. "I'm here for you now, you know that, right?"

Harry nodded again, but Sirius could feel wetness seeping through to his shoulder. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"How can you be here for me when you can't even keep me?" he mumbled into his godfather's shoulder. "I'm going to have to go back to the Dursley's, aren't I?" he asked, sobbing now.

"What?" Sirius was stunned, where was this coming from? How could Harry even think they would allow him back with those horrible excuses for a family? "Harry, no. There is no way we would let you go back there."

"Are you sure? I mean, where am I going to stay? I can't stay here forever," he asked, gasping in a lungful of air.

"You're going to stay here until I'm set free, then you're going to come stay with me," explained Sirius. "My grandmother on my father's side, she lived not too far from where Ron lives, actually. We'll move in there once we get things figured out, I promise. But you are not, under any circumstances, going back with the Dursley's. I'd rather die than allow that."

Harry finally pried himself away from his own death grip on Sirius' clothes. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"But, it could be years before you're set free," he started hesitantly. "What if you don't want me after you've been set free? I mean, you could change your mind, and I would completely understand," he said sadly. "I know I can be a hassle to take care of."

Sirius shook his head. "You are no such thing, and I will never change my mind. I have every intention of keeping you with me for as long as I can possibly keep you. Even when you're married I'll have a hard time letting you go. You and your wife might have to move in with me," he said, smiling at his godson's tear streaked face.

"I don't think that's going to happen for a long time," he whispered, trying to give his godfather a smile as well, but the tears still pouring down his face sort of detracted from it. "If at all."

"I won't let anything happen to you, Harry. Never again will I leave you to someone else to take care of, I promise you that," he said determinedly. "I love you so much, Harry."

As Sirius held the boy he considered his son in his arms, he knew he had to do something if he wanted Harry in his home with him, where he would be safe. Something had to be done.

"I love you, too." Harry wrapped his arms strongly around Sirius' neck. He'd never been told that before, not by a parental figure at least. It was the one thing that made him believe in the man's words. He'd never be left alone again.

………………………..

A/N: Thank you all for reading and please review! Only one chapter to go!

By the way, HpAzn/xxabyss is writing an alternate ending to SIB III if you are all interested. It is posted on my Shadowarwen Yahoo Group Page and she has also posted it here on her profile page at: http/ a look at it and tell her what you think about it.


	5. To Be Made Whole

To Be Made Whole

……………………………………….

"Does anyone else think it is entirely too quiet around here?" asked Harry, sitting up from his slouched position on the living room couch. He looked at his friends, all of whom were similarly slouched on other pieces of furniture throughout the room. "Where'd everybody go?" he found himself wondering out loud.

"We're not sure. There was some kind of meeting last night after you went to bed, Harry. When Sirius finally came downstairs, he went into the kitchen with the rest of the Order and no one came out for almost three hours," George informed them.

"How'd you find out about all of this?" Ron wanted to know, crossing his arms over his chest. "We were all supposed to be in bed."

George gave him a 'how long have you know me?' look, and Ron grinned. "You're going to get caught one of these days, mate. And I will laugh in your face when Mum finds out you were spying on them again."

"I wasn't spying per say, I was just a little curious and wanted to know what they were doing."

Fred looked surprised. "How? Mum and Dad confiscated all of our Extendable Ears."

George shrugged his shoulders with a defeated sigh. "Like I said, I wasn't exactly spying. I just sat downstairs and tried to hear the old fashioned way. The old 'glass against the door' trick doesn't quite work as well with a silencing charm in place, though," he muttered.

"I should think not," mentioned Harry, all the while wondering what his Godfather had been talking about with the Order. "Did they say anything when they were coming out of the kitchen?"

"No. They all seemed pretty excited and proud though, for some reason. Something good happened, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Sorry, mate," he said apologetically, as if he could have done anything about it.

"Don't be. At least it seemed like good news, not bad."

"Well, you shouldn't have been spying in the first place," started Hermione, needing to get her two-cents worth stated. "But, at least it was good news, like Harry said. More bad news would only bring about more stress, something we don't need right now," she said, but was so focused on Harry that he knew she was referring to him not being able to handle anymore stress. He nearly growled at her but was able to reign in his frustration at everyone's inability to realize he wasn't going to break at the slightest thing.

Harry knew he was no where near recovered, it had only been a few days, but he was already sick of everyone looking at him like he was a small child who needed someone to hold his hand.

Sighing, he picked up the book he had been reading, a very strange book he'd found in the library regarding the historical aspects on the house he was currently staying in. It was quite interesting, if not extremely strange and scary at times. The people who used to live here and who wrote entries into the book must have been deranged…Harry shuddered.

"Are you cold, Harry?" asked Hermione, immediately picking up on anything Harry did, even if he so much as sneezed.

Harry sighed irritably. "Yes, Hermione, I'm fine," he said, his tone a little harsher than he had intended it to be. Hermione looked hurt. "Hermion-,"

Ron interrupted him. "Hey, you don't have to talk to her like that," he said, starting to look irritable himself. "I know you're going through a hard time right now, but you don't have to take it out on us!"

Harry could only stare. He hadn't realized he'd been acting mean or ungrateful; he would have stopped had he known he was annoying anybody. "S-sorry," he muttered, instantly looking back down at his book to avoid their eyes. He didn't want to admit it, because he'd just been thinking how much it annoyed him, but he was more fragile right now and his feelings were easily hurt, like just now. He wanted to believe he was stronger than he really was and it just wasn't so. And, pathetically, Ron's tone of voice had been harsh enough to make him cringe away from him.

He hoped no one noticed. What he hoped for hardly ever came true, though.

……………………………………….

The hurt look on Hermione's face compared to the one now shining on Harry's made Ron want to eat the words that had just flew from his mouth. He had just acknowledged that Harry was going through a hard time and he couldn't believe he'd just yelled at him, especially considering what he _had_ been through.

He knew before he even saw Hermione move that he was about to get smacked and he wasn't disappointed. He allowed her hand to fly at the back of his head, knowing that he deserved it. He felt horrible for talking to Harry like that, especially now that Harry wouldn't even look at him anymore, as if he were afraid of him, his best friend. At that moment, he hated himself. Harry was like a brother to him, he was supposed to protect him, not scare or upset him.

"Harry, I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that. I was just upset," he started, but stopped, not wanting his friend to feel any worse than he already obviously did.

But, Harry shook his head. "No, you don't have anything to apologize for," said Harry softly. "I didn't realize I was being a prat or anything. I'm really sorry I hurt your feelings, Hermione," he said, his eyes still locked onto the open book in his lap. "I'll go upstairs and leave you guys alone."

Before Harry had even stopped talking Ron was on his feet. In all the emotion of the situation, Harry had forgotten that he couldn't just get up and move about on his own at first, he'd get dizzy. When the small boy stood quickly from the couch in his need to escape, he immediately started to sway, but Ron was already at his side. "Harry, damn it," he whispered as his best friend collapsed into his arms. "I'm so sorry," he muttered, lowering the semi-conscious teen onto the couch. He felt awful. He knew he was going to hate himself for the rest of his life for making Harry think he was a nuisance and not wanted. He already knew that was how he felt, he'd known for a while now that his best friend thought he wasn't worth anything. Too bad Harry didn't know he meant everything to them.

"Shite, what do we do now?" asked Fred, kneeling down beside the couch where Harry lay. "No one is here, and I don't know where the potions are that Snape has been giving him."

"Like Snape would just leave his potions lying around," said Ron, hurriedly placing a pillow underneath his best friend's head. "I'm sure we just need to keep him calm and quiet and he'll be fine until they get back," he said, not knowing if this was actually true or not. He just thought it seemed the most reasonable thing to do considering the circumstances.

Hermione nodded her head. "That's all we can do," she stated, placing herself directly beside the couch, nearly pushing Ron out of her way in the process. "Harry?" she gently called, running her hand through his hair.

There was no response from the boy and Hermione sighed. "We should probably try to wake him up. We need to make sure he's really okay."

"Harry?" questioned George, leaning over the back of the couch, the only available space open to him. "Can you hear me, kiddo? You need to wake up," he said a little louder than the other two had spoken. He grinned a bit when Harry stirred. "There! He's waking up," he said, calling Harry's name again.

Groaning, Harry tried to turn over, but came up short when he felt a hand on his chest pushing him back down. "No, Harry, stay still," Ron gently rebuked his friend. "Are you awake?" he asked.

Harry finally managed to open his eyes. They fluttered open and then closed a few times before he could keep them open for an extended period of time. "Yeah, I'm awake," he muttered, looking up into their concerned faces. "We have to stop meeting like this," he said jokingly, recalling the first time he'd seen them since school had let out. He'd nearly passed out in their arms, only to see them all gazing at him with concern in their eyes. Seriously, this had to stop happening.

"Well, as soon as this passing out business stops, we'll work on it, okay?" said Ron, helping Harry to slowly sit up. "Are you okay now? Do you still feel dizzy?" Ron kept his hand on Harry's shoulder until he was certain his friend wouldn't topple over.

"Yeah, I'm fine," returned Harry, but his face remained down, as if he didn't want to look any of them in the eyes. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, wishing he had his energy back. If he had it he wouldn't have just made a fool out of himself by passing out once again.

"Tired?" asked a voice, and Harry finally had to look up to see who had questioned him. He saw it was Fred who was looking at him with concern and nodded his head. He was so tired.

"Maybe you should lie back down and try to rest for a bit, Harry." Hermione wasn't exactly asking him if he wanted to lie down. She grabbed a pillow and placed it on the arm rest before taking Harry by his shoulders and gently pushing him backwards until he was lying flat on the couch. "There," she said to the bewildered boy, "close your eyes and try to get some sleep, okay? We'll be right here with you, I promise," she whispered as she gently stroked his forehead with her thumb, causing his eyes to fall closed.

"That wasn't fair," he muttered, but he didn't really want to stay awake, it was rather nice to get away from the concerned stares he'd been so used to getting, but hadn't quite gotten accustomed to yet.

"Is he asleep?" asked George.

Harry would have answered himself, but was too tired to open his mouth and answer the question.

"Yes, I think so," whispered Hermione, and Harry heard her give a shushing noise to whoever had just shoved their chair back. "Don't wake him back up!" she said softly.

"Sorry," muttered Ron. "I wasn't trying to. It just makes me so…so mad, I guess, that he's like this. He's so frail I'm afraid we'll hurt him if we so much as touch him!" he said quietly, heeding Hermione's earlier tone.

Harry cringed, wondering where this conversation was going. He felt bad for eavesdropping on another conversation, much like he had done the other night with Mrs. Weasley and Sirius. Quite frankly, he wanted to know what his friends thought of him now. Were they disgusted of his weakness? He desperately wanted to know what they thought, even if it broke his heart to find out the truth.

"It's not his fault his relatives are a bunch of prats who didn't deserve him in the first place," said Fred, apparently a little upset that his brother might be thinking negative thoughts about Harry. Harry felt the same way.

There was the sound of a chair scrapping against the floor again and Harry waited for Ron to leave the room. But he didn't leave. He felt his best friend's hand on his arm, a comforting touch, not one full of anger. "I'm aware that it isn't Harry's fault," he said with conviction. "I just wish the bastards hadn't had the chance to hurt him as much as they did. And I'm pissed as hell that no one checked on him like they promised Harry they would!" he said, the hand still soft and comforting even though his words were harsh.

"Every time I think of him, locked in his room and starving, it makes me want to scream. He expected them to come and check on him if he didn't write back or respond. And I think he left a clue in one of his letters before they stopped altogether. And I didn't even notice!" he said, his voice sounding stricken.

"What are you talking about?" asked Hermione, sounding confused. Harry was equally confused until he remembered the letter he'd written towards the beginning of summer. He'd written something about doing his homework, hoping Ron or one of the others would notice. But they obviously hadn't. Harry felt a twinge of sadness but couldn't begrudge anyone not noticing. They'd been too caught up in more important things to notice.

"It just struck me, just this second," he whispered. "He'd mentioned having to do his homework…" he trailed off.

"They don't let him do his homework," muttered Hermione, finally figuring out what Ron was talking about.

"Precisely. It was clue, don't you see! He was trying to let us know what was going on even when he was writing those letters. And nobody noticed. Merlin, it had been going on the entire time!" he hissed, his anger growing. "They'd been starving him ever since they took him home!"

Fred sounded devastated when he spoke next. "Why didn't anyone check?" he asked, his voice so quiet Harry almost didn't hear him. "He could have died."

"And to top it all, Harry doesn't even think we did anything wrong. He thinks we had the right to forget about him or something! That finding Sirius was more important than him," Ron continued to rant. "He doesn't know how much we all _love_ him," he whispered. "He doesn't know that our entire family would _die_ for him. He doesn't know that Mum has wanted to adopt him for as long as she's known him."

Harry was shocked. They wouldn't be lying to each other, obviously, but he just couldn't believe that they all cared about him as much as they said. And yet, they did. He could hear it in their voices as they spoke of what had befallen him. His best friends cared more than his relatives had ever thought about doing. They loved him. Any more revelations like this one would likely make him run in the opposite direction. This was just about beyond his ability to comprehend. People loved him. He'd known before now that he was at least partially cared for. He knew Hermione, Ron and the Weasley's all cared for him to a certain extent, but he hadn't known just how much. Not until now.

"Those bloody Dursley's beat him down so low that he doesn't think he's worthy of love, I think," said Hermione quietly and Harry couldn't find it in himself to deny it, either. That was precisely how he had felt. His perception of things was beginning to change, though.

"He's worth it," said a voice from the hallway, not inside the room.

"Sirius," said Ron, his tone telling Harry that no one had realized they had an audience. Harry was glad he was facing away from his godfather; otherwise everyone would know he was awake. A shy smile had lit his face when he heard his godfather's words.

"Is he sleeping?" asked Sirius who sounded closer now.

"Yes. He had a bit of a dizzy spell earlier and we made him lie down," she said, and Harry felt her hand running through his hair again. "We weren't sure where anyone had gone and didn't know what else to do except make him rest," she explained.

"You did the right thing," whispered Sirius. Harry felt more than heard his godfather as he sat down on the couch. His leg was pressed up against Harry's back, making the boy feel more comforted at the touch, more secure. "I'll take him to bed," he said and suddenly Harry felt arms slip underneath him and lift him up into a strong embrace. He went completely limp as he was lifted; hoping Sirius wouldn't realize he was awake.

"He doesn't weigh a thing, does he?" asked another voice. Harry realized with a start that it was Remus. Apparently the two were finally speaking to each other again.

"No, he doesn't. I wish he'd eat more."

"He can only eat so much before his stomach rebels against it," informed Remus sadly. "He went so long without food that he's just not used to eating more than about a quarter of a meal at a time, if that."

"He'll get better, Sirius," Hermione said quietly, still trying to keep Harry asleep. He felt bad for deceiving them like this. He wasn't sleeping and it was starting to feel a little awkward trying to fake it. Especially considering they were all talking about him when they thought he wasn't aware of it.

"I know he will. I plan on making certain of it."

Ron sounded skeptical. "How are you going to do that if you're still in hiding?" he asked. Harry had to wonder the same thing. He purposefully shifted in Sirius' arms and clenched his fingers as they held onto Sirius' shirt front. "Is he waking up?"

"I think so," said Sirius softly. "Listen kids, would you mind giving Harry and me a moment alone? I need to tell him something in private," he said, making not only Ron and the others gaze at him curiously, but Harry to wonder what exactly he was going to be told. He tensed in Sirius' arms. All the thoughts running through his mind were negative and consisted of him being sent back to the Dursley's or worse.

"Are you awake?" asked Sirius when the door was finally shut.

"Yes," he whispered dully. Sirius set him on his feet but immediately had to catch his godson as he started to fall. "Harry!" he called, grabbing onto his arms and pulling him back towards his chest. It killed him to see Harry this weak and vulnerable.

"Sorry, Siri," he said, grasping his godfather's shirt in a death grip in order not to fall.

"No need to apologize, kiddo. Let's sit down on the couch, all right?" he said as he helped the unsteady boy to the sofa and gently lowered him until he was leaning his head against the back of the couch. "Better?" he asked worriedly.

"Fine," he said softly. He realized he probably really should have used the time before to rest instead of eavesdrop. He was so tired still.

"We need to talk about something important," said Sirius, taking a seat directly across from his godson.

Harry looked up nervously. "Why? Did I do something wrong?" he asked apprehensively.

Sirius shook his head quickly. "No, you did nothing wrong," he said. "Why do you always think you've done something bad?"

"I don't know."

"I think you do," replied Sirius.

"It's nothing."

"Why are you lying to me?"

Harry stood up in an effort to leave the room and to stop this confrontation from happening and immediately regretted it. He grabbed his head as he felt the world tilt. "I've got to stop doing that," he moaned. Sirius had grabbed his shoulders by then and was helping him to sit back down. "I'm sorry," he said dejectedly.

"Stop it, Harry. There's nothing to apologize for."

"But I was lying to you," he admitted. "I do always think I've done something wrong, even if I really haven't. It's a conditioned response. I can't help it."

"Because of the Dursley's, right?" asked Sirius, sitting down beside Harry on the couch. He wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders and drew him up against his side. When Harry's head was resting comfortably on his shoulder, he continued. "Did you get into trouble a lot with them?"

Harry shrugged; glad he didn't have to face his godfather now. "I guess so."

"How often?" he persisted.

"So often I lost count."

Sirius sighed deep in his throat. He hated the Dursley's. "Well, I've got something I need to tell you, Harry," he said so seriously that Harry felt for certain it must be bad.

"I have to go back, don't I?" he instantly asked, his voice trembling. It could only be something bad, right?

"What? No! Merlin, Harry!" Sirius sounded infuriated. Harry started to pull away from his godfather, his entire body trembling now, but didn't get very far when Sirius wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gently pulled him back. "Shhh," he said soothingly. "It's all right. I'm not mad at you, Harry, never at you," he said with as calm a voice as he could muster. "I didn't mean to frighten you. Please don't be scared."

Harry slowly calmed as Sirius' fingers ran through his hair and was startled to discover he was almost falling asleep at the motion. "You're not mad?" he asked quietly after prying his eyes back open.

"Not at you, I'm not. I'm just angry at your relatives. You're never going back there, Harry. Never, not even in a million years. You're going to stay with me. I want you and I've gone to extensive steps to make sure no one else takes you away from me again," he said, catching Harry's attention immediately.

"What?" he asked, curious now and wide awake. "What does that mean? Is this the reason you and everyone else disappeared this morning?"

"Yes. I had something I needed to do and I needed their assistance," he said softly.

"What'd you do?" asked Harry, shifting slightly so he could look in his godfather's face.

"I cleared my name."

Harry sat still for a moment, taking in what he'd just been told. He wasn't sure if he was coming to the correct conclusion. But what other conclusion could he possibly come to. "You cleared your name?" he asked slowly. "Does that mean you're free?" the words were barely loud enough that Harry himself could hear them. He hadn't been sure if Sirius did hear him until the man spoke.

"Yes, Harry. I'm free."

"You're free?" he asked, needing the confirmation. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, kiddo, I'm very serious."

Harry still remained stock still and shocked. "A-and you…you want me still?" he asked, flushing when he heard his voice break.

"I've wanted to keep you since the day I first met you. As your godfather, I'm still your legal guardian and I plan on using that to get full custody of you, Harry. If you don't mind, that is."

"I don't mind," said Harry happily. He wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck and squeezed as tightly as his worn out body would allow. He would have been jumping up and down and screaming if he had the energy. "I love you too, Sirius."

……………………………….

A/N: Well, this is pretty much the end. Nita wants me to write one more chapter detailing the demise of the Dursley's, but if I do something like that it will probably be in the form of a one-shot and not with this story. This part of the story is complete. I hope I cleared everything up!

I'm not sure what my next writing project will be, but when I do one, I will completely finish it before I start posting it. Please visit my Shadowarwen Yahoo Group to keep in contact with me, Nita, and my other wonderful fans who frequently visit there. If you want to write or draw something in regards to this story or my other stories, you can post it there. The link is in my profile, since I can't put it here.

Thank you all for reading!

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